‘In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.’ So begins the sixth chapter of the great prophet Isaiah, someone who was privileged to witness what few people ever get the chance to see in this life: heaven itself. However, it did not initially seem to be a privilege, as Isaiah recounts: (v5) ‘”Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”’
Thankfully, Isaiah’s fears proved unfounded – he was cleansed and spoke directly with the Lord himself, who commissioned him to take God’s message to the people. And it is in this commissioning that we have the background to today’s passage. We cannot fully grasp what Jesus is sharing here unless we go back to Isaiah 6, because Jesus’ second quotation from Isaiah comes directly from Isaiah’s vision of God in that very prophecy. And it begs the awkward question: does God stop people believing? That appears to be the surface meaning of what God says to Isaiah, and at the very least gives us pause for thought.
However, it’s not the whole meaning. The context of most of the book of Isaiah – including ch6 – is the persistent, stubborn unbelief of his people. God reveals himself again and again; yet people refuse to repent or trust. So, eventually, God lets them have their wishes.
This is very much Jesus’ experience, too; today’s passage begins: (v37) ‘Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.’ It’s hard to credit, isn’t it? So many signs, and yet some people simply refuse to come to Jesus. This is why John goes back to Isaiah, partly to demonstrate that, sadly, ‘twas ever thus. There is nothing new under the sun.
But there’s also a golden thread of hope – because Isaiah’s conversation with the Lord in the throne room concludes with God saying that judgement would follow, but ‘the holy seed will be the stump in the land’ (Isaiah 6:13). The stump is, of course, Jesus – the ‘shoot of Jesse’ (Is 11:1) which will bear fruit and bring salvation – the Messiah who is here, right now, before the crowds. John makes the link clear by declaring that ‘Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him.’ (v41) What an amazing thought – that Jesus was there, in that heavenly conversation, knowing that he would fulfil the Father’s word to Isaiah seven or more centuries later!
Today’s passage is both a challenge and an inspiration: a reminder that some people will remain stubborn in their unbelief, despite mountains of evidence to the contrary. On the other hand, Jesus comes anyway to just such stubborn people, people like us, with the deep longing of the Father’s heart to heal them (v40). No-one is beyond the love of God; no-one is beyond rescue this side of the grave. Let’s keep praying for those we love, and let’s give thanks that God keeps overcoming our own stubbornness. His arm (v38) is always stretched out to save.